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Atheist. Various posts here have got my mind bubbling, which usually ends up with really dumb questions to which I do not know the answers. Is Ateist really just a stopping place, where you catch your breath and make sure you are still here? With the next step one of true searching to find what is right for you, from Wiccan to Quaker to Agnostic, to Humanist?

Dick_Martin 7 Feb 4
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1

Atheism was just a stopping place for me. I eventually became a pantheist. No superstitions, no woo woo, just Nature is all the power.

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Atheism is the rejection of the claim of god (s). There is nothing anyone could do to change my lack of belief. The steps to take in the search of truth are the sciences. It's testable, and based on objectivity. No better way to find a truth than by looking for facts.

I wonder if this resonates with you?
Humanism:
Humanism is more an ethical process, not a dogma about the existence or otherwise of gods. But in general terms, it rejects the validity of transcendental justifications, such as a dependence on belief without reason, the supernatural, or texts of allegedly divine origin. It is therefore generally compatible with Atheism and Agnosticism, but does not require these, and can be compatible with some religions. To some extent, it supplements or supplants the role of religions, and can be considered in some ways as "equivalent" to a religion.

I try to base my life on these three simple words. Do no harm.

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I'm an atheist.

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Atheism shouldn't exist. Period. The term itself is derogatory to those who claim it. It was given to non believers by believers, it means "without god." If we dropped the idea of any god or gods then there would no necessity. The word atheist would no longer have a meaning. If there are no gods then how can I be without god? There are no gods, therefore god can't be with me, so atheist means nothing. I am a moral human being and my morality comes from evolution. And yes, morality is a product of evolution, not a demand from god

0

I don't quite understand your question. If you mean atheism, no, I am pretty sure that atheism is the default position, and without brainwashing at a young, impressionable age, it's where everyone would be. Barring a traumatic brain injury or dementia, I cannot see religion as an option for me.

JimG Level 8 Feb 5, 2018
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I am pure agnostic. This site is like a water hole to me. It a place where folks gather and refresh their thoughts.

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A-theism is simply the lack of Theism.
I am Ignostic.

Ignosticism is an Epistomologic position; it is a set of ideas refuting the importance of determining the existence of God. It claims that knowledge regarding the reality of God is altogether unprofitable.

It is the idea that every theological position assumes too much about the concept of God and other theological concepts; including (but not limited to) concepts of faith, spirituality, heaven, hell, afterlife, damnation, salvation, sin and the soul.

IF you cannot even define what you are talking about, or consider it beyond human understanding, how is it you can claim to know anything about it and keep your intellectual integrity intact?

It is not my worldview, that is shaped by other things like Humanism. I run my life based on Ethics tempered with Empathy.

1

For me I think it was a matter of simplification. The point of ridding myself of unnecessary complication.

4

I've always been an atheist. It's the final destination supported by reason, logic, and science.

And of course I'd be willing to change my mind if evidence warranted it.

so you are an atheist because you do not believe there is a god. Are you Aghostic? Do you also believe there are no ghosts? My point is that negatives can't be a belief system.

@Dick_Martin I said, "...supported by reason, logic, and science.". No I don't believe in ghosts either but that doesn't mean I have to have an alternative theory to support my lack of belief. I don't need to have a belief system to counter a lack of belief in things that are unsupported by reason, logic, and science. We weren't all brainwashed into having faith in something like religion or ghosts that have no valid basis in fact.

1

As long as I thought of the concept of god as a literal thing I was a believer until I was about 14, and then an atheist until I was about 65 or so. Then when I began to see the concept as a metaphor, I could no longer identify as an atheist because I can plainly see that the things the metaphor points to, do exist. The question “does god exist?” no longer holds any meaning for me. A more useful question is “what is god’s nature?” For me, god is a meaningful abstraction, which is an emergent quality of human nature, created by evolution because it conferred increased survivability and reproducibility to our species. It is not just a popular but erroneous idea; it is an indelible part of us we’d be better off to understand than to deny, because it won’t be going away in the next few hundred thousand years.

skado Level 9 Feb 5, 2018

I like to understand the origin of religion, and the history religion, and how it effects the psychology of civilization. I will be a student for very long time if I live to be a 100.

0

I don't think it is. Probably earlier in my life I may have toyed with agnostic as a kind of theological waypoint. But for me I don't feel atheist is that.

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End point. For certain.

1

Einstein vehemently claimed that he was not an atheist. He claimed he was an agnostic. He felt humility in the face of all he knew about the universe. He rejected all religion and their claims about God including the Bible. But he did believe in God. The question is - how he defined God. which had nothing to do with religion or a personal God.

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Endpoint for me. The naked snake after the skin's been shed.

Now you got me going... The naked snake...." ooohhh k.

2

No, I think atheism is strongly linked to evidence, and for me at least, unless there is evidence for any of these things, then no way, not interested, not the slightest bit intrigued.

So we know what you don't believe in. What do you believe in? A good woman, a dog that hunts, and a pole that catches fish?

@Dick_Martin As you have probably guessed, I believe in very little. Perhaps some rocks,

2

I think I'm good where I'm at. Being an atheist seems like a fairly logical place for me to set a spell. I'm not searching for anything.

3

Dude, atheism is a conclusion. Hard to mess with that. Not like all of a sudden some random religion is going to seduce me.

Atheism isn't a conclusion. It is solely and only a negative place that used to be filled with churchy stuff, It will gradually fill with more useful stuff, most likely starting with agnositcism. For me the next step was looking at and accepting various concepts of Humanism.

I have never had religion pushed upon me. I’ve never had that place filled with churchy stuff. I’m sure it was awful. @Dick_Martin

@Dick_Martin You're assuming one was brainwashed by a religious upbringing. Atheism is most definitely a conclusion although maybe not for you. Atheism didn't replace anything for me and I'm not looking for something to follow or to believe in to replace my programming.

3

Well no. Usually, atheism is the end of the journey. You've done your soul searching, realized it's all BS, and come to the conclusion that nothing can be known without scientific confirmation.

So then your belief now is in science. Sounds good to me. I can see the sense in that.

3

I think I'm likely to remain an atheist until I die. But you never know...

This is not an "Atheist" site...it is "Agnostic." It means "I do not claim to know." It is open to questioning and self-searching for what has meaning to YOU.

@think-beyond There are atheists here. And why do you think I added "you never know"? That's agnostic, isn't it?

@Coffeo Of course. Life is a wonderful adventure when "you never know."

4

For me personally it is the end point, don't get me wrong I would prefer to believe there is a Sky Daddy that will fix everything... Yet the evidence says no Sky Daddy, so here I am.

I understand what you are saying. So we know what you're not. OK. No problem, there. So... What are you? We know what you don't believe in. What do you believe in?

Well, I think the issue for me is that beliefs is being misconstrued with a philosophy. A humanist point of view is more of a philosophical way of looking at the world, belief in a Supernatural is what you hold to as fact as to the existence of a deity. People can be quite easily a atheist and a humanist or an atheist and a Buddhist in philosophy, if you stick to the older forms of Buddhism or just as easy to be an atheist in a nihilist. My two cents.

But I consider myself an atheist and a humanist to answer your question directly.

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